Rogue Lawman: Heed the Thunder – Peter Brandvold

 new releases, Peter Brandvold, Westerns  Comments Off

May 082013

 

We all know by now that Peter Brandvold writes some of the best action scenes in the business. He's also a master at setting the stage and writing vivid descriptive passages. Plus his characters are always interesting and compelling. All of those qualities are on display in his newest Rogue Lawman novel, HEED THE THUNDER.

Gideon Hawk is still chasing outlaws across the Southwest and handing out his own brand of bloody justice to them. In this one he's on the trail of Pima Miller, a trail that leads Hawk into the rugged and dangerous Superstition Mountains of Arizona Territory. Brandvold adds to the mix a couple of beautiful women who can't be trusted, a horde of bloodthirsty Apaches, an old desert rat or two, and a fabulously valuable lost gold mine. It's great fast-paced fun spiced with dark humor and gritty action. Gideon Hawk is a great tragic hero, and I hope his adventures continue for a long time to come.

Now Available: West of the Big River: The Lawman – James Reasoner

 James Reasoner, new releases, West of the Big River, Western Fictioneers, Westerns  Comments Off

Apr 292013

 

William M. "Bill" Tilghman had one of the most illustrious careers of any Old West lawman, serving as sheriff, town marshal, and deputy United States marshal in some of the toughest places west of the Mississippi. But he faced perhaps his greatest and most dangerous challenge when he rode alone into the wild Oklahoma Territory settlement of Burnt Creek on the trail of a gang of rustlers and outlaws with some unexpected allies . . .

THE LAWMAN, by New York Times bestselling author James Reasoner, is the first novel in a new series from the Western Fictioneers, West of the Big River. These are brand-new, original short novels inspired by real-life characters and actual events from the exciting, colorful history of the American frontier, written by today's leading Western authors including Robert J. Randisi, Michael Newton, Jackson Lowry, Frank Roderus, Bill Crider, Matthew P. Mayo, James J. Griffin, and many others. Don't miss any of these action-packed short novels that showcase the best of the American West!

Now Available: Saddles, Sixguns & Shootouts – Charles Beckman Jr.

 Charles Beckman Jr., Charles Boeckman, new releases, pulps, Westerns  Comments Off

Apr 232013

 

Whether it was matters of love, revenge, range wars, or shootouts, the Wild West always seems larger than life. It was a time of do-it-yourself justice, when no wrong was left unpunished, no damsel in distress lacked for defenders, and no gunslinger dared turn his back on an enemy. At least, that’s the way it’s portrayed in the tales that really grab us by the heart. Danger lurks behind every bush; the town saloon is the stage for gambling, drinking, womanizing, and deadly confrontations. And we always root for the good guy. Hop on your imaginary steed and ride along for a trip back to those frontier days with Charles Boeckman, writing as Charles Beckman, Jr., in this collection of 12 vintage pulp stories filled with characters so human that you feel you’re witnessing these stories live and that you have a stake in the outcome of the action. You’ll get into the minds of those cowpokes who had to make instantaneous decisions about who deserved to live or die. Through them, you will feel the scorching heat of the summer prairies, the longing for love, the driving force of their ego when challenged by a foe, the insecurities they stomp down and try to deny, the raging anger of the need for revenge, the cunning required to outwit the foe. Tales of the old West, with their universal appeal, are always fun to read. So grab your Stetson, put on your spurs, and have a great time with these top-notch stories from a master writer.

I don't know about you, but I can't pass up a collection of pulp stories by one of the few real pulp authors still with us. I'm really looking forward to reading this one.

Now Available: Wolf Creek Book 4: The Taylor County War

 Chuck Tyrell, Clay More, Douglas Hirt, Ford Fargo, James Reasoner, Matthew Pizzolato, new releases, Troy D. Smith, Western Fictioneers, Westerns, Wolf Creek  Comments Off

Apr 152013

 

The fourth Wolf Creek novel is now available. For those of you not familiar with the series, the Wolf Creek books are collaborative novels produced by various members of Western Fictioneers and published under the house name Ford Fargo. This time around, contributing authors are Douglas Hirt, Clay More, Matthew Pizzolato, James Reasoner, Troy D. Smith, and Chuck Tyrell. You can read more about it here.

Now Available: Look You on Beauty and Death – James Reasoner and Livia J. Washburn

 e-books, heroic fantasy, James Reasoner, Livia J. Washburn, new releases, Sword and Sorcery  Comments Off

Apr 132013

 

Despite my love for the genre, Livia and I haven't made many forays into sword and sorcery. This short story is one of them, and I think it's a pretty good one. We wrote it a while back for an anthology called NEW AMAZONS, which was edited by Margaret Weis. "Look You on Beauty and Death" has got swordplay, an evil wizard, a little humor, and a few plot twists. We've gone through it, revising it and expanding it some from its original version. I hope those of you who like heroic fantasy will check it out. It's only 99 cents for 7,000 words of action.

I have an unpublished fantasy novel sitting in my files, but it's going to take a considerable amount of work before it's ready to see the light of day. I expect to have it available as an e-book, too, sooner or later.

Coming Soon: West of the Big River: The Lawman – James Reasoner

 e-books, James Reasoner, new releases, West of the Big River, Western Fictioneers  Comments Off

Apr 112013

 

My newest Western novel will be out soon. THE LAWMAN is the first book in the West of the Big River series, published by Western Fictioneers. This is going to be a fine series of new short novels based on historical figures and incidents from the Old West, with a great line-up of contributing authors including Robert J. Randisi, Michael Newton, Jackson Lowry, Frank Roderus, Bill Crider, Matthew P. Mayo, James J. Griffin, and many others. You can read about this and all the other Western Fictioneers publishing projects on the WF blog.

Now Available: A Ranger Named Rowdy – James J. Griffin

 e-books, James J. Griffin, new releases, Westerns  Comments Off

Mar 302013

 

< "A Ranger Named Rowdy", the first of a new series of Western short stories by James J. Griffin featuring Texas Ranger Tim Bannon, is now available on Amazon. Those of you who have read and enjoyed Jim's earlier stories and novels about the Texas Rangers will definitely want to pick up this one. It's another action-packed yarn and makes excellent use of the Texas setting.

Dundee Times Two

 e-books, new releases, Wayne D. Dundee, Westerns  Comments Off

Mar 182013

 

I just read a couple of short stories by Wayne Dundee that are well worth your attention. As it happens, both are Westerns, but not really traditional Westerns.

"Adeline" is based on the Orphan Trains, the effort to take orphaned children from the East and find them new homes in the West. Adeline is one such orphan who finds herself in a far worse situation than she was in before, and it's up to an unlikely hero, a bounty hunter named Rawson, to get her out of it.

"Quick Hands" is the story of a traveling medicine show, a staple of Old West fiction, but this troupe includes a boxer named McMahon who faces off against the locals in bouts staged in the towns where the medicine show stops. Eventually, however, McMahon and his friends find themselves in trouble where his pugilistic skills won't help, and he has to turn to another talent to save them.

As you'd expect from the work of Wayne Dundee, both of these stories are gritty and hardboiled, fast-paced and tough, but they also have a huge, compassionate heart at their center. He has a unique voice that's one of the best in the business, and you won't go wrong with either of these yarns.

Now Available — Redemption: Trackdown

 James Reasoner, new releases, Redemption Kansas, Westerns  Comments Off

Mar 072013

 

Marshal Bill Harvey puts his life at risk every day to protect the people of Redemption, Kansas. But there’s only one resident whose well-being comes before all else, and if you touch her, you’re as good as dead in his books...

Bill thought he had his hands full with the hotheaded Jesse Overstreet, a Texan like himself, who’d stumbled into town. But Overstreet is the least of his problems when Caleb Tatum and his gang sweep through town, cleaning folks out of every last penny. As a bonus, they make off with a beautiful hostage, Eden Harvey, Bill’s wife...

While Bill and his posse ride hard through Kansas to save Eden and the old buzzard Mordecai Flint is left alone to police the town, a broken marriage turns violent and a suspicious gypsy spooks the townspeople. Mordecai desperately needs Bill to return. And he might just get his wish when the posse finds unexpected help from that fiery Texan, Overstreet. Bill will surely get back his beloved, at any cost...

The third Redemption, Kansas novel is now available in both print and e-book editions from all the usual outlets. I really like the cover on this one, and it actually illustrates a scene from the book, which isn't always the case. I think it's a pretty entertaining yarn, so check it out!

New From the Western Fictioneers

 Clay More, e-books, Frank Roderus, James J. Griffin, Keith Souter, new releases, Western Fictioneers, Western Fictioneers Library, Westerns  Comments Off

Mar 042013

 

The Western Fictioneers publishing program is really expanding these days. There are three new releases from the Western Fictioneers Library, WF's reprint imprint: LEAVING KANSAS, a Spur Award winner for Best Western Novel from the legendary Frank Roderus; JUDGE ON THE RUN, another fine action-packed traditional Western from Clay More (Keith Souter); and RANGER'S REVENGE by James J. Griffin, one of the best chroniclers of Texas Ranger yarns in the business. I've read all three of these, and they're well worth your time. Also available are THE PEACEMAKERS VOLUME 2 and VOLUME 3, excellent collections of more stories that either won or were finalists for the Peacemaker Award for Best Short Story. You can't go wrong with any of these.